Rental reforms would drive landlords out of the sector, a property representative body has told Minister for Housing James Browne.
The Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA), a representative body for landlords, noted that its members should not be expected to provide “lifetime housing” for people, with that responsibility instead lying with the State.
The IPOA wrote to the Minister before Budget 2026, raising concerns at a series of reforms for the rental market due to come into effect in March 2026.
The reforms, the IPOA contended, could devalue their rental properties, which may lead to them exiting the market and could “threaten long-term financial security for families that are dependent on rental income from their small-scale investments”.
READ MORE
The reforms have received broad-based criticism from tenants’ groups and developers, with Opposition parties protesting outside Leinster House after The Residential Tenancies Bill 2026 was passed in the Dáil on Wednesday night.
The reforms would mean landlords whose properties become vacant will be able to reset rents to market rates from March 1st. There will be no changes for existing leases. New tenancies after that date will be subject to a minimum duration of six years, and will set a maximum rent increase of either the rate of inflation according to the consumer prices index, or 2 per cent – depending on which is lower.
The IPOA outlined a series of concerns and raised “long-term problems and issues” it deemed would be likely outcomes of the legislation, in lobbying documents released to The Irish Times under a Freedom of Information request.
In the letter dated September 2025, IPOA chairwoman Mary Conway told the Minister that the mere announcement of the then-proposed changes to legislation had “already resulted in a reduction in rental accommodation, with notices of termination being served”.
The outcome of the reforms, Conway contended, would be that “accommodation choices will be further limited, and supply reduced, damaging the private rental market and, first and foremost, negatively impacting tenants”.
Among the concerns raised by the IPOA was that the changes to long-term tenancies would create a market “likely to favour short-term tenancies”.
It argued that landlords would be likely to favour short-term lets as the “only viable means to regain possession of their properties” – further arguing that tenants in need of long-term housing could be those most hurt by the rental reforms.
Conway warned that legal challenges against the reforms would be “likely to be instigated, meaning that many of these steps taken in the hope of helping tenants will have the opposite effect”.
Referring to legal challenges taken against previous restrictions on rental reforms, Conway said “similar restrictions today will inevitably trigger legal challenges, leaving landlords uncompensated and creating prolonged litigation that delays housing market responsiveness”.
The IPOA said long-term restrictions on rent increases would have the effect of creating “winners and losers”, with tenants paying below-market rents not permitted to be raised to market prices, against “younger generations facing soaring prices and limited availability”.
“Private landlords cannot be expected to provide lifetime housing; this responsibility lies with the State,” Conway wrote.
“Unless these issues are addressed, the proposed legislation risks reducing supply, discouraging investment, and creating further instability in the rental sector.”
A response from the Minister’s office noted the concerns of the lobby group and committed to taking it into consideration as part of the drafting of the legislation.
The IPOA echoed its opposition to the Bill in advance of the vote, calling on the Government to amend the Bill address concerns of local landlords, protect private investment, and help retain existing supply.
The IPOA was contacted for comment.
